To the editor:

A letter you published Feb. 4 by Kevin Schartz gave me quite a shock. A recent book, “Bias,” by Bernard Goldberg has a central theme that the liberal media don’t detect any bias in their output because they are all positively sure that they are mainstream, and they are also sure that only conservatives put out biased material.

Mr. Schartz would undoubtedly deny that he is a liberal. The tone of his letter indicates that he is convinced his thinking reflects the mainstream. He is another case of self-delusion. For instance, he implores the lack of socialistic political parties in the United States; I expect because there is no substantial party by that name. Apparently he doesn’t know that one of the very first political parties with socialism at its core was called the “Levelers.”

The Russian Communists had socialist as part of their complete name; the British Labour Party is about as socialist as you can get. The word socialist doesn’t have to be in a party’s title just in what the party stands for. If, for instance, you believe from each according to ability and to each according to need, as Democrats do, then you are essentially a socialist.

The liberal media and Mr. Schartz don’t quite get it.

R.G. Henley,

Lawrence